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Why Can't Celebrities Stop Cursing?
Once again we had another Superbowl
incident. Granted it's not quite the same level on the "Did you see that?" scale
as the infamous 2004 Wardrobe Malfunction, but rapper M.I.A.'s middle finger and
her use of a scatological expletive during the live half-time broadcast, which
starred Madonna as the main feature, is still a testament to how little
self-control some famous people have.
Not surprisingly the finger flash has
generated pages and hours of media commentary. There are those that belittle the
incident and say they can't understand the rest of us who still cling to the
notion that broadcasters who are given license to use public airwaves should
have to live up to a certain level of decency. And once again NBC is saying it's
not their fault, asserting M.I.A. didn't extend her third digit during any
rehearsals, leading NBC staff to be caught off guard. (Oddly, I have not found
any comments regarding the scatological expletive in her lyrics.)
Yet even with NBC's sloppy trigger
finger (you can see a desperate attempt to obscure the moment when the picture
"scrambles" a couple of seconds after the fleeting gesture) there is a much
larger question that goes far beyond this moment in time. Simply put, "Why can't
celebrities stop cursing?"
Maybe I'm even more puzzled by this
question due to my own personal experience. By the time I was in my teens my
language was often peppered with words I knew my mother wouldn't want to hear me
speak. In my early twenties, I embraced faith in my life and one of the personal
improvements I felt I needed to make was a change in my choice of vocabulary.
Yet even during my salty teen era, I
knew when and where such words would not be appropriate. In addition to my
aforementioned mother, in my day you didn't use such language at school. Doing
so would result in an hour of detention or even worse. I also recognized that
while other adults could swear up a storm, most wouldn't tolerate a teen's use
of such language.
Aside from these personal examples,
there is other evidence to prove that it is possible for one to control their
tongue. I have worked in media industries all my life and have spent a great
deal of time with what the industry calls "talent" (an often questionable term).
News anchors, radio announcers, field reporters... the list goes on and on. Not
surprisingly most of these people are far from choirboys and can find a reason
to cuss their way through virtually every sentence. But the moment someone says,
"You're on!" they instantly put the profanity filter in place. Why? Because it's
likely they will lose their jobs if they let a four-letter expletive into their
banter before the weather forecast.
Yes, there are times when they don't
keep the filter in place -- but those are still rare enough that they are
enshrined on station blooper reels and now enjoy undeserved immortality on
YouTube.
These rare moments of loose language
don't distract from my point. Given the thousands of hours that typically
foul-mouthed media commentators are on the public airwaves, their ability to
keep their language clean is a testament to how possible it is to put a clamp on
it. So why can't a celebrity make it through a three-minute song, or even a 30
second acceptance speech? Could it be because they simply don't care?
As strange as it may be to think of
Madonna as the new moralist of broadcast television, a few days ago even she
stated her disdain for M.I.A.'s mode of expression. "I was really surprised,"
she said on Ryan Seacrest's morning show on Friday February 10. Quoting from
Seacrest's website, Madonna says, "I didn’t know anything about it. I wasn’t
happy about it. I understand it’s punk rock and everything, but to me there was
such a feeling of love and good energy, and positivity it seemed negative. It’s
such a teenager…irrelevant thing to do…there was such a feeling of love and
unity there what was the point? It was just out of place.”
However Mathangi Arulpragasam,
M.I.A.'s real name, is anything but a teenager. She's in her middle thirties.
And I bet with that much life experience there's a chance she could learn that
when you are a guest in millions of family rooms across the nation, you might
want to use your manners.
Even more disappointing is this woman
has put her neck on the line for many worthy causes, most notably supporting the
building of schools in Liberia and ending youth poverty and violence in Africa.
Yet many of the millions who had no idea who she was prior to her half-time
moment are now defining her based on a momentary display. I know, we are not to
judge others so quickly, but we also know how important first impressions are.
Of course M.I.A. is hardly the first
and unlikely to be the last celebrity to pull this stunt. Yet I personally know
lesser-famous people who no longer have broadcast careers after they have made a
similar error on air. If, in a few months, the Supreme Court rules in favor of
the FCC's ability to regulate broadcast decency some of these same harsh
consequences may be hovering over celebrity careers in the future.
Rod Gustafson
Besides writing this column for the Parents Television Council, Rod Gustafson authors Parent Previews® - a newspaper and Internet column (published in association with movies.com) that reviews movies from a parent's perspective. He's also the film critic for a major Canadian TV station, various radio stations and serves on the executive of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness. Finally, his most important role is being the father to four wonderful children and husband to his beautiful wife (and co-worker) Donna.
Parenting
and the Media by Rod Gustafson
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
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